Marked (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 1

I have a confession to make. I, Victor Clause, have a crush on my next door neighbor.

It wasn't like he was hot or sexy or anything. God no. If anything, it was the opposite; with boring blue eyes and a blank, expressionless face, one could say he looked quite...well, ordinary. There wasn't anything particularly special about the way he physically appeared or held himself. Love at first sight was a term that made me roll my eyes in exasperated disbelief before I met him, would laugh at even the prospect of me experiencing of falling for that old cliché.

But, there it was.

His name was Julian Fourie. A transfer student who coincidentally moved to the abandoned old house just three blocks away from our house. It was a surprise that someone went and actually bought that decaying piece of shit. A mere week ago a contractor issued a plan to take it down so the abrupt change of heart was a little disconcerting.

Since my mother was one of those 'casserole-for-the-new-neighbors!' type of mom, I was assigned to deliver a pan of heated lasagna to them. And that was where I signed my death sentence.

(I wish I could say that was an exaggeration. I wish I could emit death sentence and use a different soft term like and that's where I fell in love or that's when my life changed. But that wouldn't be appropriate. Not in this circumstance.)

The walk to their house was a short one. Julian was in the yard, arms deep in dirt, potted flowers surrounding him.

The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw him was wow, he's so fucking pale.

I cleared my throat to let him know I was standing outside his yard. He jumped, turned his direction towards the sound, and stared.

I stared at him right back, unabashedly.

It was six in the evening, cold winter night plunging the sky in complete darkness. But despite that, his skin literally glowed under the moonlight. The color of his hair was so light it was almost white, and even from the distance his eyes couldn't be mistaken for anything than what their colors were: a piercing electric blue.

Perhaps describing him as ordinary in the beginning was uncalled for, because no one ordinary looked like he did. Maybe, if I had to pink a different word, I'd use other-worldly.

"Hey," I greeted awkwardly, when goosebumps started raising on my skin. I showed him the pan I was holding. "I come with an offering. My mom's special lasagna."

"An offering?" he asked. His voice was soft, velvet. Sort of like a calm before the storm.

"Yeah," I said. "Welcome to the neighborhood."

He didn't say anything for a few moments, looking over me as if mulling over if I was a threat. Then, "Stay," he said, standing up from his kneeling position on the ground. His jeans were covered in soil. "I will be back."

"I'll be here," I said, ignoring the fact that he asked me to stay as if I were a dog.

A minute later a tall woman dressed in a long black gown opened the door. She walked towards me, graciously, and smiled. Her straight black hair was parted in the middle. She was as pale as the boy I greeted.

Beautiful, I couldn't help but think. How can someone be so beautiful?

"How may I help such a fine young man this evening?"

It took all my effort to form an articulate sentence. "Uh, hey. Uh. This is for you," I handed her the aluminum wrapped tray. She took it with a tilt of a smile. "My mom made it. Welcome to the neighborhood." I said a second time.